Читать книгу How to Find Work in the 21st Century - Ron McGowan - Страница 7

Our ancestors must be having a good laugh as they watch us struggle to wean ourselves off the traditional, twentieth-century job. If you look at your family tree, you’re likely to see that you’re descended from self-employed people who earned their living as contractors, tradespeople, craftspeople, and small-business owners.

When the concept of full-time employment working for someone else became widespread with industrialization, many of our forefathers thought it was a crazy idea. It was seen as unpleasant, unnatural, and an inhuman way to work. It’s the ultimate irony. The job, that thing that our ancestors saw as abhorrent, is the thing to which we’ve become addicted.

The workplace is currently going through one of the most significant changes to occur in the past hundred years. But it’s a mixed bag. While many workers are facing real hardships in trying to cope with these changes, others are sailing along virtually untouched by them.

There is work available, but a lot of it is not packaged in the form of a job, as we traditionally understand that term. The onus is on those looking for work to find the employment opportunities that are out there, or in some cases, to create their own. This is a new role for most people, and our education, training, and in some cases our upbringing does not prepare us for it.

Those who are unable or unwilling to adapt to this reality will find themselves competing for a dwindling number of conventional, full-time jobs. Those who aren’t afraid of a freelance career, who can adapt their job-search strategies and market themselves effectively, will have more options, offer more value to employers, and best position themselves for twenty-first century success.

Here is a fundamental fact that our society, politicians, senior bureaucrats and senior college/university administrators need to accept: For an increasing number of workers, the era of the traditional job that has served us well for over 100 years is over — and it’s not coming back.

Acceptance of this fact will be a positive first step in recognizing that we are in a new era and that we have to stop trying to solve today’s problems with yesterday’s solutions.